


The Bell Tolls

by Markzucciniburger



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games), Red Dead Redemption 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:42:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27206096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Markzucciniburger/pseuds/Markzucciniburger
Summary: We all know how much of a pain in the ass Micah was. Here’s a fic if what happens when Arthur sees through his ruse from the getgo
Relationships: None
Kudos: 9





	The Bell Tolls

The Bell tolls

At five minutes to 10 AM, a man riding a large black shire horse rode into the sleepy mountain side town known as valentine. Once an unruly, excitable brute has been calmed and trained by his rider, Arthur Morgan. He even saw fit to christen the brute with a new name: titus. A character from one of Dutch’s books he read long ago. He stopped in front of the Valentine post office, and tied the horse ring onto the pole. He was on the third step of the building when he heard a loud and obnoxious laugh

“Oh come on friend, where’d ya think you’re going.”

“Please sir, I’ve got to get those letters inside-“

“Oh what’s your rush? We got to make sure you don’t got no drinking money on you. Don’t want you mixin up no ones mail, now do we?”

Arthur sighed and straightened out his jacket, making his way to the group. Before the aggregator could throw a punch, Arthur spoke up..

“You need to leave him be. And get lost.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, is you the sheriff.”

“No. I’m worse. Now beat it. Last warning.”

The larger man snorted and walked toward Arthur. When he got close, Arthur could smell the whiskey on his breath.

“Is you threatening’ me, pretty bo-“

Arthur’s fist collided with the mans nose, breaking it instantly, and knocking him into the ground.

“Naw partner. That was a warning. Now get lost.”

The large man struggled to his feet only for his friends to hold him back.

“Forget it Winston, ain’t worth the trouble. Let’s go.” The group ran off into the town. Afterwards Arthur straightened his hat and walked over to help the post office worker to his feet.

“Thank you mister. Those damned drunks are gonna be the death of me. Why that good for nothin’ sheriff doesn’t deal with them I’ll never know.”

“Sure thing sir. But I doubt they’ll bother you again. I hit the fat kid pretty hard.”

“Well at any rate I should probably get these damned things into the office. Mr Watson’s been cracking down lately and I don’t need to hear it from him.”

Arthur chuckled as he lit a cigarette. But then out of the corner of his eye he noticed a fallen letter on the ground. It was slightly stained with mud, but the address front was clear as day.

“To mr Bell  
Strawberry post office-“

Arthur picked up the letter and turned to the post office worker.

“Hey mister?”

“Yeah?” The man said, turning in the threshold of the door.

“…never mind!” With that Arthur turned to leave.

“That goddamn Micah. Bad enough I have to bust his sorry ass out of jail. But then I gotta shoot up a whole goddamned town afterward, and then I gotta tag along with him on another job tomorrow. “Peace offering”. He just wants to cover his ass. I suppose I am entitled to take a peak of his mail. With that slimy little bastards luck, he got a love letter from a duchess, or the map to El Dorado”

Hopping on titus’s back he rode further into town, passing the large goat farm, and rented a room at the local Inn.

He hung his coat and Pistols up at the coat wrack and kicked his boots to the side of the bed. He took out a cooked chunk of venison, and took a large bite.

“Alright bell let’s see who wasted ink on you and why.” He swallowed and cut the letter open with his knife. He murmured it quietly to himself. As he read it, the amusement in his face and gave way to a look of utter shock. His hands began to tremble so badly that he dropped the letter onto the hardwood floor and his legs gave way. Had it not been for the bed. He would have fallen onto the floor. He could not believe what he had just read.

The very next day

Arthur breathes hard, struggling with the thin mountain air. Eventually he came to what looked like an abandoned camp. A smoldering fire, a shabby tent, and empty metal cans strewn across the ground. But no sign of a certain Micah bell-

“Took you about damned long enough cowpoke. I was getting worried. Thought you lost your balls back at strawberry.”

Arthur rolled his eyes. Getting the business from Micah bell of all people was the last thing Arthur was in the mood for.

“What are we doing our here, Micah.”

“Were pulling a job Morgan.”

“What you mean like the ferry job in black water? Or you going out for supplies and getting captured? That kinda job?”

“No cowpoke. stickin up a stage coach. Heard the dearly departed o’driscoll yapping about it back in the cell. Say‘s they’re a banking coach with paydirt cargo, and a lot of it. And they say dead men tell no tales.”

“Which means they’s armed to the teeth.”

“They always are Morgan. Ya ain’t scared is ya?”  
“No-“

“Good. Now follow me. I spotted an overlook where we can keep an eye out for them.”

Arthur smirked and sighed.

“After you.”

Micah laughed his low laugh, and mounted his horse, leading Arthur to a grassy hillside.” Five minutes passed before a several horse stage coach came into the cleadinf

“Oh shit! There they are! Showtime, cowpoke!” Micah hopped onto his horse and galloped down the mountain side, to the clearing.

“Micah! Goddamn him!”

Arthur followed suit and rushed after him, titus’s muscular legs launching them down the side after the reckless outlaw.

“This is a robbery! Stop that coach!”

Upon hearing this the driver whipped his reins and the coach’s horses picked up speed.

“Move it Morgan, they’re trying to lose us.”

“Shit!”

Gunfire cracked as Arthur fired his volcanic rifle at the driver of the stage coach narrowly missing. After about half a mile Micah called out.

“They’re slowing Morgan now’s our chance!”

Arthur took a wide turn on his horse, Chambered 2 bullets, and with two movements, shot both the driver and his body guard in the head. Killing them instantly.

“Whooo! That was a rush.” Micah celebrated. They pulled the body’s off the carriage and “giddy’dup” the horses

Micha got on the shotgun side, leaving Arthur to steer along the beaten path. As if to make him suffer more, Micah started boasting and laughing obnoxiously about what Arthur could hardly pretend to care about. While the younger outlaw postured on and on about how dutch will be pleased with what he brought in, Arthur began slowly reaching towards his pistol. His hand came closer and closer. So that Micah would not notice. His left hand tracked down towards his hip. His hand had grasped the handle of his double action revolver…and then

BAM!

“Shit! Go Morgan, we’ve got company!” Micah shouted as he began cracking off shots from his rifle. The reins bounced as Morgan whipped them, rallying the horses intro a dead sprint.

“Lose them in the clearing Morgan!”

Arthur rolled his eyes at Micahs passenger seat driving as he whipped the horses towards the trees, the carriage bounced and jumped along the tougher terrain as they traveled upwards. When Arthur saw that they were barreling towards a river all he could utter was an “oh shit!” Before the horses broke from the carriage, hurling the two men into the river. They landed with a hard wet slap, the rocks in the stream getting them with a painful embrace.

Struggling to their feet the two men took cover behind a large rock as the attackers rode towards them, their pistols cracking with fire.

“Goddamn O’driscolls!”

“You, stupid son of a bitch, bell. You walked us into an ambush!”

“Quit moanin Morgan and shoot!”

Guns fired wildly. Micah missing most shots, and Morgan’s landing at great risk to himself. The intense fire fight lasted but only five minutes before the last masked o’driscoll fell bloody from his horse. Both breathing a sigh of relief.

“Well, now that that’s over and done with, let’s take a look at that money.”

Arthur coughed river water. “Yeah. Let’s.”

Micah turned his back to Arthur and approached the crashed carriage. It now rested on its side and was missing both wheels. The horses bodies laid strewn across the river bed, leaving a twinge of pain in Arthur’s heart.

Arthur steadied his breathing as Micah counted excitedly.

“Damn, we sure hit a jackpot. Looks like we’ve got around five thousand dollars. I’d say a fifth of a cut each should be fair.” Micah broke out of his excitement when he heard a click of a gun barrel behind him. Realizing all the o’driscolls were dead, that could only mean one thing.

“Very funny, cowpoke.” He laughed.

“Is it? I don’t think so.”

Michah’s blood ran cold.

“Quit screwin’ around cowpoke. I’ve got things to do!”

“Oh yeah? Got mail to pick up, Bell? Don’t worry, I did that for you.”

Micah heard the distinct sound of paper unfolding.

“Seems all you’se got was a letter. Don’t worry, I’ll read it for you.”

Arthur cleared his throat and read aloud.

“Dear mr. Bell, while your terms were not easy to meet, Ive been able to persuade my colleagues of our plan. Given the great deal of danger you currently have yourself in, we have agreed to your terms. Those terms are as followed:

In return for information that will lead to the location of and subsequent arrest of Dutch Van Der Linde and Hosea Mathews, as well as their collaborators, we have agreed to compensate you monetarily with an amount equal to the current standing bounty of the previously mentioned men, full immunity from any wrongdoing or otherwise illicit activity perpetrated during your association with the Van Der Linde gang, protection from elements associated with the Van der linde gang, as well as fully paid transport to the continent of Australia as refuge.  
I hope this is the beginning of a long and prosperous partnership. You are doing your country proud by assisting with the arrest of these dangerous men and their cohorts. Sealed within this envelope is a silver pocket watch and fifty dollars, as a gesture of goodwill from our agency to you.

Signed special agent Andrew Milton. Pinkerton detective agency.”

Micahs heart pounded like a drum, and perspiration stained his forehead.

”I kept the pocket watch and the fifty. Just in case you’re wonderin’.”

“Now Arthur..there is a very good explanation for this.”

“Oh I know there is bell. You’re a rat. Have been from the very beginning. It all makes sense now. You got in Dutch’s ear about that Ferry Job in Blackwater. you wanted him to get wanted so you could collect the bounty, and have the rest of us hanged from the rafters.”

“Arthur, think about what your doing here. Just put the gun down…and we can talk about this.”

Arthur thumbed back the hammer. “I’ve heard enough from you. You ain’t gonna get dutch and the rest of us killed.”

Realizing the jig was up, Micah grabbed his six shot, and swung around to face Arthur.

BAM

Before Micah could even clear leather, a bullet pierced his brain, and he fell to the ground.

Arthur approaches his body, river water running against his boots. Standing over him Arthur hocked and spat on the dead outlaw. He lit a cigarette and took a moment to observe his surroundings. No witnesses, now law. All was quiet. The river ran against stone, and the doves coo’d. The area where Arthur stood ran red as the Odriscolls and micah’s body lied. Calling micahs horse over, he loaded micahs body and half the money from the carriage into the dead outlaws saddle bags, and the other half into his own.

Whistling for the other horse to follow, Arthur rode back towards camp.. his face didn’t betray any feeling. In his action he felt no relief. No comfort. Only the same hollow anger that always followed him. He rode towards camp, his future and the gangs uncertain.

The end.


End file.
